What Are Your Questions To PLM Virtual Assistant?

February 19, 2010

When somebody is asking me what is the number one PLM software problem, my instant answer is – complexity. Yes, PLM is a dumb complex. I think, discussions about the complexity of PLM are endless. Each time I hear about new PLM product, the first requirement is to make it simple.  There are two major reasons why PLM is complex. They come from opposite sides of PLM business – product related and people related. From the product related standpoint, we need to admit – engineering and manufacturing are a complex discipline. Product complexity is growing, so we are facing growing complexity in design, engineering data and manufacturing. On the other side, from people’s side, engineering nature it to see all problems in the complex way, analyze dependencies, etc. So, engineers are constantly coming with more and more complex requirements. The result is simple – when you operate PLM software, you need to think… And you think to think a lot…

The complexity of applications creates a lot of problems to the people operating this software. However, recently, I started to experiment with personal assistant on my iPhone. Siri (www.siri.com)

Now, let me switch your imagination on. Do you think we can apply this interesting assistant behavior to help me to operate my complex PLM software? Or, in another way, can my PLM experience changed to be as simple as experience with the virtual assistant. I think that it may work. PLM virtual assistant may fit “a role oriented” work PLM products need to do in your organization. What about questions like -

1. What is the most urgent work I need to do today?

2. Who is responsible of the ABC part manufacturing?

3. Where is the last revision of my drawing?

4….

Now it is your turn. I’m sure you can come with much better questions. So, now think about what type of questions you can ask PLM virtual assistant if you have one in your organization? Sounds crazy? However, let’s make a try…I’m waiting for questions you want to ask you PLM virtual assistant.

Best, Oleg

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Posted by olegshilovitsky

Things Are Getting Touchy (PLM Tablet User Experience Thoughts)

January 12, 2010

Do we need to kill a mouse? Josh Mings, author and founder at SolidSmack mentioned middle-mouse button wheel as one of the five best CAD related innovations of the last decade.

And I agree with this statement. However, do you like your iPhone? Alternatively, maybe you like your HP TouchSmart? What do you think about future user experience in the world that moving fast to the touch user experience?  Do you think we are going to see a massive shift in user experience with the introduction of touch screen devices and tablets?

At the time that whole world is preparing to the potential coming Apple’s announcement of the new tablet device, I decided to put some thoughts and analyze what potential it can bring to the people in the PLM eco-system.  Before going to analyze, take a look on the following video. Despite the fact, it is related to publishing market, I found it as the closest example to the world of 3D/CAD/PDM/PLM…

So, what do think? I’m sure you figured out some ideas that already had chance to see in CAD user experience, like SolidWorks mouse gestures. If you lately made some experience with 3DVIA Mobile, you can find some associations too.

However, I want to figure out some PLM organizational sweet-spots for such user experience:

1. Sales. What can be better than present something live and handy? The growing interest in iPhone applications is the simplest confirmation. We can see a growing amount of demo iPhone apps presenting content or even mockups of your product, ideas, etc. Be able to do the same with your users, show product look and feel, demonstrate features. I’m sure products like 3DVIA Composer from DS and similar publishing tools can be an ideal target to be presented on tablet devices.

2. Design review. It looks like tablet experience can be a good companion for collaborative work during design reviews and meetings. You don’t like people hiding behind screens of laptops and desktop monitors. It can be very cool to be able to have such a handy device to work on your current presentation.

3. Manufacturing shop-floor mobility. This is another opportunity. To have a mobile device of size bigger than PDA can open additional functions for people in the shop-floor to access different product and manufacturing related information. Operation instructions, documents – this is only the initial list of what can be used.

You can think, these are futuristic examples… Maybe, however, I’m pretty sure, our future will be much more touchy than today. However, the biggest challenge will be PLM applications. Take a look on today’s user experience. I think we are far from ideal and there is a long way towards new user experience and ideas to become real life.

Just my thoughts.
Best, Oleg

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3DLive, HD3D and demand for CAD/PDM immersivity

November 10, 2009

Few months ago, in this post, I had chance to discuss the future of immersive CAD and Data Management. Looking on the latest DE  article by Kenneth Wong, NX7 with HD3D: Where CAD Geometry and Lifecycle Data Mingle, I found it very interesting to couple it together with some of my previous thoughts. HD3D from Siemens PLM (announced month ago) and 3D Live environment from DS (introduced 2 years ago and embedded into DS V6 last year) clearly representing the answer on user’s demand related to immersive representation of data from both 3D environments like CAD system and data management system like PDM/PLM.

You can see on the next few slides and videos of 3D Live application from DS. The famous turn-table allows you to filter, search, browse and navigate on assemblies, parts and related information.

On the next few slides and video you can figure out look and feel of HD3D app from Siemens PLM. Use of visual tags helping user to snap and browse information related to 3D Models as well as filter and search data.

What I see as a set of common characteristics of this trend?

1. Use 3D as a basic user experience

2. Use Immersive 3D as an entry point to browse through product geometry and lifecycle data

3. Mashup metadata, lifecycle data and other related information

So, what is my conclusion today? Both, DS and Siemens PLM experience represents clearly customer demand to bridge 3D and non-3D information together. With some difference in marketing and product buzz around, I see an overall trend is to unified 3D and non-3D environment for advanced CAD/PLM users.

Best, Oleg

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Posted by olegshilovitsky

Future PLM User Experience will be flat?

October 5, 2009

I’d like to discuss a user experience topic today. I think, this is a very painful question if we are talking about Enterprise Systems. PLM is not exception and suffering from complicated and not always appropriated user interfaces. I think, indeed, PLM has some advantages on the side of 3D, but in my view, there is a significant portion of non-3D life in PLM too. So, I’d like to pick up “List User Experience” trend. On the positive side, I see power of List in his simplicity. Everything can be represented by the list (except of 3D of course:) ). There are few powerful developments of a list-oriented user interfaces, I want to mention.

Microsoft SharePoint
SharePoint is using a list as a fundamental user interface experience. Everything is represented as a list and everything is transferred to become a list. You can see more details about SharePoint user experience in my previous posts about that – PLM Collaboration, To Catch Wave of Share List?

Micro-bloging and social networks
This is all about Facebook, Twitter, Yammer and other micro-bloging and other similar products.I can see a definite trend in standardizing on list base user interface. Facebook user interface becomes a more “list” compared to what we had before. Products list TweetDeck, Seesmic Desktop and other are all lists-based.

Picture 18

Mobile User Experience
There is not much to say about the iPhone User Interface. Everything is list-based. Lots of other products simulate iPhone user experience to get higher customer adoption rate.

Picture 17

Future Twitter Lists.
Some very interesting future development expected from Twitter. Twitter Lists. This new product from Twitter looks like next level of maturity to experiment with what List abstraction can deliver.

So, what is going in Product Lifecycle Management? Everything is pretty structured and not flat today. May this is our chance to change it? I’m looking forward to your comments.

Best, Oleg

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Benefits of RIA for Product Lifecycle Management

September 23, 2009

riaI’d like to discuss RIA today. RIA – Rich Internet Applications are web applications that have most of the characteristics of desktop applications, typically delivered by way of standards based web browser plug-ins or independently via sandboxes or virtual machines. Examples of RIA frameworks include Curl, GWT , Adobe Flash/Adobe Flex/AIR, Java/JavaFX, uniPaaS, Mozilla’s XUL and Microsoft Silverlight.

Thinking about today’s modern technologies such as SOA, SaaS and development of PLM systems I see more and more advantages in complete encapsulation of user experience component from PLM business components. In such context, RIA can provide a good technological foundation to establish great user experience. And, in my view, user experience is one of the key factors for today’s PLM system user adoption.

So, what can be such benefits? I’d like to figure out top three and describe them in details.

1. Better data visualization.

A lot of information in PLM systems can be better understood in a graphical way (in comparison to normal boring web application). Spatial information, geo locations, 3D models, process visualization- this is the only short list of data that can be presented graphically to the user. RIA can be an excellent choice to improve UI in such cases.

2. Integration of data across multiple systems

The nature of PLM is to deal in multiple domains of data - requirements, design, engineering, support, customers. PLM systems today can provide a federated layer to manage information in other systems. However, it creates visualization challenges. Usage of RIA can simplify a way PLM will present information coming from different domains.

3. Mobile Access to Information

The nature of PLM is to deal in multiple domains of data - requirements, design, engineering, support, customers. PLM systems today can provide a federated layer to manage information in other systems. However, it creates visualization challenges. Usage of RIA can simplify a way PLM will present information coming from different domains.Today’s life is very dynamic and customer demand is to be able to access product-related information everywhere. Since RIA can seamlessly make data available on mobile devices, PLM can leverage it and expand PLM system usage and deployment in the organization for many additional tasks.

In addition, PLM deployment is heavily relying on services and customization. This is, in my view, additional reason why RIA is not in mainstream for PLM. RIA development is complicated and not always can be acceptable to service providers. PLM system can gain a significant advantage from the ability to support RIA and provide toolboxes for PLM system customization based on these tools.

Have you made any initial investment in RIA system learning? Do you plan to do it? Do you see any benefits?

Best, Oleg

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Non-3D User Experience for PLM

September 8, 2009

I want to touch today topic related to user experience in various PLM systems. Having such powerful function as 3D in user experience is, of course, very important. However, sometimes I think we really overkill by 3D. Few months ago I discussed this in my post (3D Limits…). During this weekend, I was looking on Google Side by Side interface for GSA and my initial thoughts were – this is good way to go for many comparison functions we have in PDM/PLM systems.

So, why “Comparison function” is important?

1. Many PDM/PLM user experience cases run around “search/what if” scenario – Bill of Material modification
2. The comparison function in PDM/PLM is the most fundamental function. We have to compare almost everything – design, bill of material, ECO content, selection of supplied parts etc.
3. Current comparison user experience in most cases based on old featured list/tree comparison user interface. As most of the user interfaces of this type, his main disadvantage, in my view, is a need for multiple clicks to explore tree and detailed information.

And why, I think Google “Side by Side” user experience can be efficient

1. Flexibility on search
2. Ability to run synchronously to compare results
3. Ability to drill down into one of the results without changing focus of another panel.

Finally, I think non-3D user experience is important. When 3D experience is superior in most of PLM systems, non 3D user experience was actually the same we used 10-15 years ago and continue to use in most of enterprise systems today.

What will be future PLM user experience? This is a real question we’ll need to answer in the near future.

Best, Oleg

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PLM Prompt: Faceted Search for PLM

June 24, 2009

Short request for discussion. Faceted search is something widely accepted as user experience in many web based environements.

I think ability to discover information in this way will be very beneficial for PLM system. What is your opinion?

Some examples:

1. Good set of web examples of faceted search

faceted search wine example - wine.com

faceted search wine example - wine.com

2. Systems like SharePoint have MOSS Faceted Search web part.

http://blogs.msdn.com/leonidly/archive/2009/04/30/faceted-search-3-0-implementation-of-search-suggestions.aspx

Example of Faceted Search in MOSS

Example of Faceted Search in MOSS

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Posted by olegshilovitsky

PLM Prompt: 3D, VR Cameras and xBOX 360

June 3, 2009

Short and powerful message – 3D is coming! Microsoft announced VR camera availability on xBOX 360. Delivered by 3DVIA Virtools and MP it will provide a new type of user experience never seen before! Watch these Lionhead “Milo” project videos. Created by the acclaimed studio Lionhead Studio, this game is one of several minigames meant for playing with the “Project Natal” body-sensing motion controller.

3D Cameras are actually nothing new, but seeing them coming onto a console like xBOX 360 is very interesting. I think it will allow totally new types of interaction.

What do you think about adoption of these technologies beyond games for 3D design, production and manufacturing?

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What will drive 3D and CAD after recession?

May 19, 2009

Do you know what technology will kick-in after-recession time? I think, everybody was too focused on the first-ever Microsoft layoff… At the same time, Microsoft is continuing to work on what they future surface. And even though everybody says that there will be nothing before 2012-13, solution was presented and it looks intriguing.


I found this technology very interesting as I think that it can provide future visualization and immersive design infrastructure for CAD. It’s, of course, too early to say something specific, but this is a place to watch in the future. What I see is the visualization of CAD and/or GIS models but in a completely different immersive format.

Another quite interesting example of technology was the recent publication about Google O3D. This is a completely different technology that brings rich media type visualization. This is another example of how today’s game technologies might be reused by tomorrow’s design/ CAD applications.

What is common between these two technologies and why have I put them together? The current visualization and user experience in CAD systems is far from ideal. Therefore, I see that these technologies are emerging to bring more value to the CAD and PLM systems of tomorrow.

What is your view?

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Posted by olegshilovitsky

Should PLM take Excel to the Cloud?

April 15, 2009

I’d like to get back to Excel discussion. I think that Excel is a really good application. And I don’t believe that somebody will argue with me… I’ll go even further and say – Excel is too good! Excel is used everywhere. Manufacturing enterprises heavily rely on Excel in order to manage literally everything. I wrote in one of my previous posts “How PLM can beat Excel…” and got responses like – Nobody can beat Excel.

I see that many companies are trying to take Excel to a different level. In most of the cases companies are taking the Excel User Experience and building storage models on the server. In some cases, companies allow you to share Excel files for multi-user access or, as alternative, load information from Excel files into a database. The common denominator for all these activities is that a useful and successful Excel user experience tries to get into the collaborative space where people share data and information, and manage enterprise processes. There are only a few companies in this space like Expresso and SmartSheets, but there are much more that are trying to say “Don’t call us Excel online”. Actually Microsoft themselves have entered the race of trying to overtake Excel upstream. Therefore MS Excel Services provides capabilities to render information in an Excel-like way on an internet browser.

Now, there are a few questions I’d like to address Is this a real deal for enterprises? Just to move data in an Excel-like way? In this case, perhaps PLM companies need to refocus from management of processes in the enterprises and shift to management of Excel in the enterprises? This is a type of dream – we will be able to talk to zillions of Excel (sheets?) engineering users created in their organization and just moving them into the cloud space ;) ? Done deal! Solved problem! No need for mails, no need to create anything more complicated! Everybody can access information, collaborate etc. Huh?… Something is wrong. In the past, we said that this applies to multiple newcomers in the technology world – VMS, DB2, Oracle, Access, Java, XML, UML… I can continue this list. The problem is not technical – the problem is not a technical solution. Probably there is NO technical solution to the problem! In my view, this problem is an engineering problem. We need to engineer our product data (actually Product IP) in a similar way that we engineer our product itself (plane, car, telephone etc.),

Moving to Excel on the cloud, online, or in any centralized storage in the enterprise will not solve the engineering problems of your enterprise data management. You still need to decide how to manage information in your enterprise. You still need to decide how to manage Product IP. And this is a fundamental need and role that belongs to a PLM system. Excel will not solve your problem in my view – it can only provide you with an easy to view user experience to handle data for the user.

I will be glad to hear you feedback for this discussion.

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